My brother’s and I inherited mineral rights from our father who has been deceased for over 15 years. The Quit Claim Mineral Deed was set up as " joint tenant with rights of survivorship". We have over the years received a small bonus a few times and only small annual royalty checks. Both brothers have now passed away. I assume I am sole owner? Do I not need to provide a death certificate to update the deed? Honestly, I haven’t thought at all about this until I received a call from a landman with a title acquisition company with a proposal to lease. The Oil and Gas Lease he emailed to me only has my name on it and has 80 more acres that I was not aware of. I’m thinking a trip to the courthouse in Roger Mills, Co Oklahoma would answer some questions. My husband wants me to talk to the landman. Is this a good idea? as he is negotiating and aquiring leases for his client. Would talking to a different landman be less costly than an talking to an oil/ gas attorney? Thank you for any insight and thoughts.
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- Talk to the landman. He has a stake in making sure the title is correct. It will be either helpful or neutral. He can verify that the ownership was in joint tenancy.
- You will need to file an affidavit of termination of joint tenancy, with a death certificate attached. Its pretty simple.
- As much as I like to promote legal work for the legal profession, this is not a particularly complex area. The landman who secures your lease can tell what needs to be done in this situation.
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Thank you. I appreciate your time and insight.